Famous Folks

Buzz Aldrin (Astronaut) -Depression/Alcoholism. Served as chairman of the National Mental health Association.

Roseanne Barr (Actress/Comedian) -Depression. Used antidepressants and psychotherapy after being diagnosed with depression in 1994.

Kim Bassinger (Actress) -Panic Disorder/Social phobia/Depression. Had her first panic attack in the middle of a grocery store. Her panic attacks were so terrible that she developed agoraphobia and depression as a result.

Terry Bradshaw (Quarterback/Football) -Clinical Depression/Anxiety. Began taking antidepressants in the late 90’s. Speaks out about mental illness publicly.

Marlin Brando (Actor) -Depression. Experienced chronic depression throughout his life.

Delta Burke (Actress) -Depression. Called her struggle with depression “lifelong” and said even as a teen she had trouble.

Drew Carey (Comedian) -Depression/Alcoholism. Said he suffered through a long depression, and at 18 and again in his 20’s, attempted suicide.

Jim Carrey (Actor) -Depression. Openly discussed his history of depression and being on Prozac on “60 Minutes” in 2004.

Dick Clark (TV Personality) -Depression. Talked about his experience with depression in the book, “On the Edge of Darkness”.

Dick Cavett (TV Personality) -Depression. He underwent electroconvulsive therapy for his lifelong depression, claiming that it was “miraculous”.

Pat Conroy (Writer) -Depression. Battled depression his whole life and suffered a setback when his schizophrenic brother committed suicide.

Sheryl Crow (Singer/Songwriter) -Social phobia/Anxiety/Depression. Spoke about her lifelong chronic mental illness. “It’s a part of who I am. It is constantly there. I just know how, at this point, to sort of manage it.”

Ellen DeGeneres (Comedienne) -Depression. Suffered a three year long depression starting in 1987. She refers to them as “the dark days”.

John Denver (Singer/Songwriter) -Depression/Alcoholism. Most of his songs written before the 80’s were born out of his feelings of depression and are some of his most famous works.

Johnny Depp (Actor) -Panic Disorder/Social Anxiety. The actor doesn’t speak about this very often, but his struggles with panic disorder are well known.

Princess Diana (Princess of Wales) -Depression/Bulimia-lived with bulimia and experienced bouts of depression.

Charles Dickens (Writer) -Depression. His depression was documented in the book “Key to Genius”.

Sally Field (Actress) -Anxiety Disorder/Social Phobia. States she still dreads any social events, “I couldn’t take it. I’d have an anxiety attack”. Although she still struggles today, she has managed to find to keep on going.

Harrison Ford (Actor) -Depression. he suffered severe depression in his youth and credits signing up for drama class where he overcame all of his fears.

Audrey Hepburn (Actress) -Depression. Reportedly she battled this illness for most of her life.

Janet Jackson (Singer) -Depression. Has chronically suffered from depression, especially for the two years preceding the release of “Velvet Rope”.

Billy Joel (Singer) -Depression/Alcoholism. Experienced serious depression and admitted himself into a hospital for treatment after a suicide attempt.

David Letterman (Talk Show Host) -Depression. After dealing with crippling depression, he spoke out about it in order to help stop the stigma attached to mental illness.

Abraham Lincoln (President) -Depression/Anxiety. His first major depression happened in his early 20’s and he struggled with it for the remainder of his life, in addition to anxiety attacks.

Greg Louganis (Olympic Diver) -Depression. He first experienced depression when he was 12 and he later attempted suicide twice. Publicly speaks about his battles.

Rosie O’Donnell (Comedienne) -Depression. Says her depression started to improve when she was 37 and began taking medication.

Donny Osmond (Performer) -Panic/Anxiety disorder/Social phobia.Depression. One of the few celebrities that have disclosed their diagnosis publicly, he is now an honorary member of the ADAA.

J.K. Rowling (Author) -Depression. Depression hit after her first marriage broke down after two years. She credits writing her first Harry Potter novel with helping her overcome the depression.

Lean Rimes (Singer) -Anxiety. As recently as the middle of 2012, she was admitted into a treatment facility for severe anxiety and stress.

Winona Ryder (Actress) -Depression/Panic attacks. Says she had panic attacks starting at 12 and ended up in a psychiatric clinic at 19 for treatment of severe depression.

Brooke Shields (Actress) -Postpartum Depression. Suffered from severe postpartum depression after the birth of her two sons. Public advocate for mental health.

Emma Stone (Actress) -Panic Disorder. Dealt with numerous panic attacks to the point she developed agoraphobia.

Barbra Streisand (Singer) -Generalized Anxiety Disorder/Social Anxiety. She was so severe that she was not seen by people for almost 30 years since she choose not to be seen in public. She was able to deal with it and regain her singing career for just a short period of time.

Emma Thompson (Actress) -Depression. Said she battled clinical depression in the past, with her career saving her from “going under”.

Mike Wallace (News Caster) -Depression. Diagnosed with clinical depression in 1984. He experienced severe depressive episodes, and attempted suicide. But he overcame this with therapy and antidepressants medication. Speaking publicly on depression, he urged those who suffer depression to seek treatment.

Boris Yeltsin (President of Russia) -Depression/Alcoholism. Suffered from depression and used drinking to try to reduce his problems, causing periodic disappearances while being president. Ended up a political outcast, mainly due to the fact that he was not in a condition of be in power of the nations nuclear force.

These is just a few of the many many well-known people who deal with mental illness. There are many more that could be on this list. Just know that you are not alone!